This post is speculative. However, there are compelling reasons to think Russia may have somehow been involved in this surprising development. Consider the following:
- Russia has expressed an interest in bitcoin mining recently. In January Putin stated that "Russia had some competitive advantages” to mining bitcoin, given its power surplus and well-trained manpower...” https://bitcoinmagazine.com/business/putin-backs-bitcoin-mining-in-russia-report
- In March Russia announced that it would consider accepting bitcoin as payment for oil and natural gas to evade sanctions. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-60870100
- The Central African Republic's announcement to adopt bitcoin appeared suddenly. There was no mention of the possibility at Bitcoin 2022 or any publicly expressed rumors.
- The Central African Republic under President Faustin-Archange Touadéra has been using Russia and the Wagner Group to consolidate power in the country and combat political rivals. The Wagner Group is considered Putin's "private army" by some people. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2022/02/08/russias-wagner-group-in-africa-influence-commercial-concessions-rights-violations-and-counterinsurgency-failure/
- The adoption of bitcoin in Africa would of course help to undermine western influence on the continent, and would improve Russia's access to the abundant natural resources such as gold and diamonds. https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-product/diamonds/reporter/caf